Overview
Lake Trafford is an approximately 1,500-acre natural lake at Immokalee in Collier County and the largest freshwater lake in Florida south of Lake Okeechobee. It is the headwaters of Corkscrew Swamp and connects seasonally to the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed. Watershed and restoration planning are led by the South Florida Water Management District Big Cypress Basin with habitat partners at FWC.
Trafford is a shallow subtropical lake averaging about 7 feet deep and reaching roughly 8 to 9 feet after sediment dredging. Cattail, American lotus, eelgrass, and planted bulrush fringe marshy shores; the southern half of the shoreline is expansive marsh, while Pepper Ranch Preserve and forested sloughs frame other edges.
Anglers fish for largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, and brown bullheads, with fisheries and native-plant restoration supported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Ann Olesky Park, a fishing pier, and Lake Trafford Marina provide the main public access.
Trafford has no Corps-style gated full-pool schedule; stages respond to local rainfall and high-water overflow toward Corkscrew Swamp. Catalog reference elevations near 19 feet NGVD29 provide a local stage context (high-stage overflow is also discussed in NAVD88 in recent studies). Monitoring current USGS lake levels helps with shoreline access and fishing in this shallow basin.
Current Conditions
Lake Trafford is currently 0.82 feet below full pool and has fallen slightly over the past week.
- 7-day trendFallingLatest movement can differ from the seven-day trend.
- 7-day changeDown 0.04 ft
- 30-day changeDown 0.46 ft
- Drought conditionsAbnormally Dry
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Lake Trafford is a 1,500-acre reservoir on the Local basin runoff (no major named tributaries) managed by South Florida Water Management District.